Material



H S. DAVIS BURNING SULPHUR Filed Nov. 2, 1921 uLFuncouramsfi I NS LR TING MHTERIAL /NVENTOR m, M Si? *C LmML A TTORNE V8 Patented Apr. 17, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HAROLD S. DAVIS, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 TEXAS GULF SULFUR COMPANY, OF BAY CITY, TEXAS, A CORPORATION OF TEXAS.

BURNING SULPHUR.

Application filed November 2, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAROLD S. DAVIS, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny, State of Pennsylvania, lmve invented certain new and useful Improvements in Burning Sulphur; and I do hereby declare the fol lowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the burning of sulphur, and more particularly to the burning of sulphur containing oil. The invention has for its object the provision of an improved method of and apparatus for burning sulphur and more especially sulphur containing oil.

The burning qualities of sulphur, even of a very high purity, are very adversely affect ed by small traces of petroleum oils and other organic impurities. This is due to the fact that oil and sulphur react at a moderate temperature to form an asphalt which spreads as a thin film over the surface of the sulphur and eventually extinguishes the flame, while the greater part of the sulphur remains unburned. Manufacturers of sulphur burners have heretofore striven to overcome this difliculty by some provision for continually breaking the film of asphalt and thereby exposing a fresh surface of sulphur. This is the main principle of sulphur burners of the rotary and cascade types.

In the mining of certain deposits of sulphur in regions where mineral oils exist, and wherein the sulphur is recovered in liquid form by underground fusion or liquefaction by means of water heated to a high temperature and the thus liquefied sulphur then pumped to the surface of the ground, it is frequently found that more or less mineral oil is present in the mined sulphur. The presence of this mineral oil, even in relatively small proportion, is prejudicial to the burning quality of such mined sulphur, because of the. constant tendency for a film to form over the surface of the burning mass of such a nature as to choke and sometimes to entirely interrupt the combustion of the mass. The improvements characterizing the present invention are especially applicable to the burning of sulphur mined by underground fusion, but it is to be understood that the principles of the invention are ap- Serial No. 512,393.

plicable generally to the burning of sulphur and more particularly to the burning of sulphur containing small amounts of petroleum or other oils or other organic impurities.

In Letters Patents of the United States of Raymond F. Bacon and Harold S. Davis, Nos. 1,374,897 and 1, 374,898, patented. April 19, 1921, it is shown that when oil bearing.

sulphur is heated, for a brief period, to a suiiiciently high temperature some interaction takes place between the oil and the sulphur and eventually the oil is destroyed leaving the sulphur free-burning. The speed of this interaction between the oil and the-sulphur increases as the temperature rises until at the boiling point of sulphur a comparatively short time is required to sufiiciently destroy the oil and render the sulphur free-burning.

The present invention contemplates an improved method of and apparatus for burningsulphur in Which the heat of combustion of the burning sulphur is utilized to heat the mass of sulphur to be burned to the extent necessary to render the sulphur free-burning. Thus with respect to sulphur containing oil or other organic impurity the mass of sulphur to be burned is, in accordance with the present invention, heated by the products of combustion of burning sulphur, to a sufliciently high temperature and for the necessary period of time to destroy the oil or other organic impurity to the extent necessary to render the sulphur freeburning.

The heat required to convert one gram of sulphur from a solid at 20 (1. to a vapor at the boiling temperature of sulphur is approximately 213 calories, while the heat of combustion in burning sulphur to gaseous sulphur dioxide is 2200 calories per gram. In other words, the heat evolved by burning sul- 'ihur to sulphur dioxide is over ten times that required to vaporize an equal quantity of sulphur. The present invention involves. in the burning of sulphur, the utilization of this large excess of heat resulting from the combustion of the sulphur for heating up more sulphur to be burned so that the oil or other organic impurities therein are thereby destroyed to the extent necessary to rende the sulphur free burning.

When oil-bearing sulphur is ignited in an open dish combustion proceeds for a brief period until extinguished by the film of asphalt formed on the surface of the mass of sulphur. Practically all of the heat from All the burning sulphur is swept away in the combustion gases, and all but the top layer of the sulphur to be burned is protected from the heat of combustion by an excellent heat insulator, namely, liquid sulphur. It will thus be evident that in the burning of the sulphur in open dishes or receptacles little if any of the heat of combustion is imparted to the mass of sulphur to be burned, and such heat as is imparted to this mass of sulphur penetrates only to a relatively small. distance beneath the top surface (it the mass o't sulphur to be burned.

In accordance with. my present invention, the heat of combustion of burning sulphur is conducted to the mass of unburned sulpluu so that this heat oi. combustion then becomes available for heating up the mass of sulphur to be burned. In accordaiu'e with the invention the an'iount of heat so con ducted into the mass of sulphur to be burned is sullicient to raise this mass of unburned sulphur to the necessary temperature for destroying the oil or other organic impurities in'the sulphur which interfere with the burning qualities oi the sulphur.

The invention may be carried out in various ways and in various forms of apparatus. For example, the sulphur to be burned may be contained in a coinliiustion dish or receptacle of good heat conducting.

material with relatively high walls against which the sulphur flame may play. Unless the cross sectional area of the combustion receptacle is comparatively small, the walls thereof, even though of good heat conducting material, will not sullice to convey a sut ficient amount of heat to the interior of the mass ot'sulphur to be burned. For this reason, I prefer to provide the combustion receptacle with a plurality of upright rods,

tubes or the like, of good heat conducting material which "extend downwardly from the combustion zone above the surface of the sulphur well into the mass of sulphur to be burned. If desired, these rods, tubes, or the like, may be attached to the bottom ol the combustion receptacle, and will then extend upwardly a su'liicient distance above the top of the sulphurto be burned to permit the sulphur flame to e'tlcctively play against the upper exposed portions of the rods or tubes. The combustion receptacle may be provided with appropriate tlues extending througl'r'the mass of sulphur to be burned and arranged so as to permit the passage therethrough of thehot combustion gases resulting from the burning of the sulphur. The combustion receptacle should be well insulated in order to appropriately conserve the heat which is conducted into the mass of unburned sulphurj therein. The combustion dish may also be provided with reflectors arranged to radiate back. the heat of combustion.

The single figure of the accompanying drawing illustrates an apparatus adapted for the practice of the invention. This figure is a sectional elevation of a sulphur burning apparatus.

Referring to the drawing, the sulphur burning apparatus there represented comprises a recetacle or dish of good heat conducting material, such, for example, as aluminum. The receptacle 1 is mounted within a vessel 2 and the space between these two elements is packed with a heat insulting material 3. The vessel 2 may be constructed of galvanized iron and the heat insulating material may contain magnesia. A plurality ct tubes 0f good heat conducting material, such aluminum pipes, are attached to the bottom ot the receptacle 1 and extend upwardly therefrom to a suitable distance above the top of the receptacle. A cover 5 rests on the tops of the tubes 4i and is arranged to serve as a deflector tor directing the heat of combustion downwardly. The top oi the cover 5 is provided with an appropriate layer of heat insulating material 6.

in carrying out the method of the invention in the apparatus illustrated, the sulphur to be burned is placed in the receptacle 1 and ignited in any appropriate manner. The heat of combustion of the burning sulphur strikes or plays against the upper expomd portions of the tubes 4 as well as against the upper portion of the wall of the receptacle. The metallic tubes a and the wall of the receptacle serve as heat conductors to convey into the body of unburned sulphur in the receptacle an appropriate amount 0t heat. from the gases of combustion of the burning sulphur. The entire body of sulphur in the receptacle 1 is thereby soon raised to the boiling temperature of sulphur, and in this manner any oil or other organic impurities in the sulphur are destroyed to the extent necessary to permit the tree-burning of all of the sulphur in the receptacle. tiulticient air for the combustion of the sulphur is supplied through the space between the top of the receptacle 1 and the cover 5, the cover being sutliciently spaced from the receptacle to permit of this.

The following investigations will illustrate the advantages derived from the burning of sulphur in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The sulphur employed in these investigations was taken from well No. 104 or" the Texas Gulf Sulphur Company, at Gulf, Texas, in July, 1921, and was of a very high grade. To determine the burning qualities, of this sulphur in an open dish 5.00 grams were placed in an open iron sand bath six inches in diameter at the top and three inches deep. The sulphur was ignited by means of a piece of asbestos about one-fourth inch square containing some burning sulphur. The results loo of this investigation are shown in the following table:

Time of burning 1 hr. min.

Five hundred grams of: this same sulphur was then burned in a sulphur burner embodying the novel features illustrated in the accompanying drawing. This sulphur burner comprised an aluminum receptacle 6-}- inches Wide at the top, 5 inches Wide at the bottom and 4 inches high. Five one-inch. aluminum pipes were attached to the bottom of the receptacle and all of these pipes projected about one inch above the rim of the receptacle. As in the preceding investigation, the sulphur was ignited by a piece of asbestos containing some burning sulphur. The following table indicates the results of this investigation.

Sulphur burned Time of burning 1 hr. 50 min.

In the foregoing investigation, the sulphur all melted, and the asphaltic film began to form over the surface. However, the aluminium rods had by this time become hot and combustion of the sulphur continued in the neighborhood of these rods. As the temperature rose, more and more heat Was conducted down into the sulphur until it boiled vigorously.

From the foregoing investigation, it will be seen that with an open sulphur burner of the heretofore customary type only about 9A% of the sulphur is burned, Whereas, by the practice of the present invention substantially all of the sulphur is burned.

At the present time, oil-bearing sulphur is excluded from many fields because of the difliculty in burning the same. By the practice of the present invention oil-bearing sulphur can be readily burned, and the invention thus enables the use of oil-bearing sulphur in practically every field from Which it has heretofore been excluded because of its poor burning qualities.

I claim 2- l. The improvement in the burning of sulphur Which comprises conducting heat from burning sulphur into the mass of sulphur to be burned through paths of good heat conductivity extending throughout the depth of said mass of? sulphur.

2. The improvement in the burning of sulphur which comprises radiating heat of combustion of burning sulphur to the mass of sulphur to be burned, and conducting heat "from burning sulphur into the mass of sulphur to be burned through paths of good heat conductivity extending throughout the depth of said mass of sulphur.

3. An apparatus for burning sulphur comprising a receptacle for the sulphur to be burned, a plurality of paths of good heat conductivity Within the receptacle for conducting heat from burning sulphur throughout the mass of sulphur to be burned.

4:. An apparatus for burning sulphur com prising a receptacle for the sulphur to be burned, means above the receptacle and appropriately spaced therefrom adapted to return heat from burning sulphur to said receptacle, a plurality of paths of good heat conductivity Within the receptacle for conducting heat ;trom burning sulphur throughout the mass of sulphur to be burned.

5. An apparatus for burning sulphur comprising a receptacle for the sulphur to be burned, a reflector above the receptacle and appropriately spaced therefrom adapted to return heat from burning sulphur to said receptacle, means Within the receptacle and extending above the receptacle to conduct heat from burning sulphur through a plurality of paths of good heat conductivity into the sulphur to be burned, said receptacle and said reflector being appropriately insulated With a good heat insulating material.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

HAROLD s. DAVIS. 

